Fig. 1: Lattice structure and properties of o-MAXs compared to conventional MAXs.

a Schematic illustration of the out-of-plane ordering in M3AX2 (312) and M4AX3 (413) MAX with two different metal planes. The orange and black spheres represent A and X atoms in the MAXs’ lattice, respectively, whereas gray spheres represent homogeneous M atoms in the lattice. Green and pink spheres indicate M’ and M” atoms in the o-MAXs’ lattice, respectively. b Illustration of the solid solution of isomorphic fcc carbide lattice. c Illustration of the formation of an off-stoichiometric (Cr0.9Mo0.1)2(Ti0.8Mo0.2)AlC2 product from two 312 o-MAXs.